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It's amazing that a few crazy minutes in a neighborhood on a rainy night in Sanford can have such a dramatic influence on so many people across the country. I guess these types of moments could happen anywhere, anytime.. but not just to anyone. If we are honest anyway.. If Trayvon had been Hispanic then we probably wouldn't know his name. If George had been black we probably wouldn't know his name. Race is something that still strikes deep chords within this country and many individuals. Right or wrong, that is where we find ourselves as Americans I guess... unsure how to move forward. There are so many levels to this story that I guarantee there will be a college class on it someday.. I have to write on some of these levels just to get to the point where I don't have to think about it so much.
The Verdict
There really was only one option for that jury. I followed the case all the way through and the prosecution did its best but it had almost nothing to work worth. The police knew they didn't have enough to arrest the guy, the regular prosecutor knew it as well. In the end there was enough pressure from outside forces to force his arrest and trial with almost no chance of getting a conviction.. Which leads to...
The Reaction
I am not sure if it was better for the country to go through a trial the prosecutors had no chance of winning or to have not arrested him in the first place. The reaction was strong and one of disbelief among the African American sect.. And some of the quotes I read turned my stomach. Obviously we have some deep wounds in our culture that continue to be reopened when there is an injustice to us or even a perceived injustice. In this case I was surprised that people would make the statements that they did if they actually spent any time looking at the case and the evidence... It's like many people stopped paying attention after the original media blitz... which was, white man kills black child. It makes me sad that so many wouldn't go deeper, that we have the bulk of our society who will always remain in the shallow end of the pool... And it makes me question myself... can I step outside myself and the way that I was raised to look at something objectively, am I willing to wade into the deep end or will I just accept what is given me in the shallow end?? Will I take the time, energy, and effort it takes to make wise choices and be educated? Lets talk about...
Profiling
Sad to many, profiling is not a crime, it is part of us as human beings that takes our previous experiences and puts it in the back of our mind and then pops up when we encounter a similar situation.. Then we weigh that info, sometimes its right, and sometimes its wrong. We get into trouble as people when that voice becomes so strong that it outweighs the evidence of what is actually going on and we make decisions on it. You can call it stereotyping or whatever, it all kinda fits in that category. Some stereotypes are worse than others, but we have ALL been profiled in some way, shape, or form. I got pulled over regularly when I was young, because I was young and I drove a little pickup that looked like a vehicle a drug dealer would use to peddle meth to high school students. When I could afford to get away from that profile, I did. And eventually I got older and my insurance went down. I don't know how much profiling goes on nowadays for just being black. I am sure it's out there. But I am 100% sure that a black man in a suit does not get stereotyped the same way that a kid of any color sagging his pants and looking like a hoodlum does.. This plays to different stereotypes. If a girl is hanging out at a bar in Las Vegas by herself and is dressed in revealing attire, makeup whatever, should she be shocked if someone thinks she is a prostitute? She fits a stereotype that some people have about girls in Vegas.. Was Trayvon profiled? Yup. Was he profiled for being black? Probably not. There is no indication of that. I would surmise that a latino kid that was dressed the same way and acting the same way would have been profiled too. More than anything, I think people get profiled by there economic status.. Poor or rich. We don't think rich people are going to steal from our stores, we pay attention to the poor ones though... I'm telling you, its natural to do. Is it fair? Not really. So what have we learned??
Dwayne Wade
Tweet from Mr. Wade "Wow! Stunned!! Saddened as a father!! Som1 make sense of this verdict for me right now please!!! … How do I explain this to my boys?”
Well Mr. Wade.... I have some advice for you.
Let's start by educating ourselves about our legal system and explaining that if there is a reasonable doubt we do not send people to jail. We have to be sure as a society.
Then tell them...That if you are walking in a residential area that has break ins regularly where people don't know you, and you are acting kinda funny looking in houses that aren't yours, there is a possibility that you might run into an overzealous neighborhood watch member who will want to know what you are doing. This can seem kind of rude if you aren't doing anything wrong but people are rude and sometimes over react. Should you have to explain yourself to anyone when you aren't doing anything wrong? NO, you shouldn't have to, but that's what police, neighborhood watch, concerned neighbors do when they don't know you, they ask questions.
If you feel like someone is following you or you feel unsafe, walk straight home or call the police or me immediately. Do not circle back and start an altercation with someone because you are confident that you can beat them up because you are bigger than them, If you attack them, there is a good chance you will be arrested. If they have a gun and you attack them... There is a good chance they could shoot you in self defense and not even have committed a crime.
Educate yourself. Learn to use words to solve problems and not your fists. Do not, I repeat, do not take pictures of yourself smoking pot, flipping off the camera thinking your cool.. It's not..
Speaking of cameras, how about the media?
Media
I picked the pictures of Trayvon and George at the top because they show them in the most favorable light. I dislike the media because they are always trying to move everything to the most sensational side they can. And of course, we eat it up. If it isn't sensational, we don't watch. It's amazing the effect a picture can have on our opinions if we aren't aware of it.
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Innocent child... killed by
criminal thug
or
Neighborhood watch Captain was attacked by
I guess we see what we want to see most the time. I don't know if we can grow as people or as a society if we aren't willing to step outside of ourselves and see things from others point of view....
